Do silêncio à responsabilização: combatendo a desigualdade menstrual no Paquistão

What looks like a tax issue is also a story about who gets to stay in school, move safely through public life, and manage their health with dignity. 

In a country where menstruation is surrounded by stigma, discrimination, and silence, a tax system that treats menstrual products as luxury goods can remain unchallenged for years, while millions live without access and face barriers to education, health, and bodily autonomy. 

In Pakistan, menstrual products have historically been classified as non-essential goods, making them subject to layers of taxes and duties that significantly increase their cost. For an estimated 88% of the population, these products remain out of reach. As a result, women and girls often rely on cloth or improvised materials, sometimes without access to clean water or safe facilities, increasing the risk of infections and other health complications. 

“Growing up with five sisters, we did not have enough supplies to manage our periods safely, so we had to use sheets of cloth and often rags. It often made me wonder that if I, a person who enjoys the privilege of having a shelter and access to school education, struggle to have safe periods, how do people whose homes get flooded each monsoon take care of their period?”, shares Bushra Mahnoor, co-founder of Mahwari Justice, a feminist, grassroots, student-led organization working to ensure access to safe periods, especially during disasters and emergencies. 

In September 2025, a legal challenge brought this issue into Pakistan’s judicial system. Lawyer Mahnoor Omer filed a public interest petition before the Lahore High Court (Rawalpindi Bench), arguing that the taxation of menstrual products violates constitutional rights to dignity, equality, and access to basic necessities. The petition specifically challenges the classification of menstrual products as non-essential goods and calls for the removal of taxes that make them unaffordable. Mahwari Justice (“Mahwari” means menstruation in Urdu) has played a central role in supporting and expanding the effort. 

A period is not a small inconvenience when it keeps a girl out of school month after month. In Pakistan, UNICEF estimates that one in five girls misses school because of her menstrual cycle, adding up to at least one year of missed education. Girls face bullying, are often considered impure, and may be discouraged or even punished for speaking about menstruation. Health risks, including infections caused by unsafe materials, are common. Over time, these barriers reinforce cycles of inequality and limit girls’ future opportunities. 

“Menstruation is deeply connected to child marriage and is a major reason girls miss school, especially since there are no safe bathrooms or clean water”, explains Mahnoor. In disaster settings, the situation can become even more severe. “I have seen people putting wood ash from stoves into a piece of cloth to use as an absorbent. I have also seen people using leaves, sand, and mud inside of cloth to manage their periods. In the worst cases during disasters, multiple women have to use the same cloth one after the other because there is nothing else available”, Mahnoor adds. 

Taken together, these realities make the legal case about much more than taxation. It challenges a broader system in which menstrual health has long been dismissed. Without products, water, privacy, and accurate information, menstruation becomes a barrier to education, health, mobility, and dignity. Even without a court ruling yet, the case has already begun to shift how menstruation is discussed in Pakistan, moving it from a private issue to a matter of public accountability and open public debate.  

Once the petition reached the courts, the Mahwari Justice mobilized its volunteer network and platform to bring the issue beyond legal spaces and into public conversation. Their volunteers have taken the campaign into bazaars and shopping malls, speaking directly with people about why menstrual taxation is a rights issue and inviting them to sign a public petition through QR codes. This approach has allowed the campaign to reach people across different ages and backgrounds, including those less likely to encounter it online. To date, the petition has gathered more than 10,200 signatures, contributing to increased media coverage and growing public debate around period poverty and gender equality. 

Legal advocacy has been paired with sustained grassroots work. Sixty stakeholders across disability organizations, clinics, shelters, and education groups have engaged in the campaign. The organization conducted interviews and focus groups with hearing- and visually impaired menstruators and co-created inclusive resources with persons with disabilities. Through 18 community awareness sessions in Sindh and Punjab, they reached 1,678 girls and women with information on menstrual biology, product use, and stigma reduction, while training a network of 20 peer educators to lead rights-based conversations in their communities. 

“We are now working on intergenerational dialogues between parents and their children to make sure these conversations take place and that the hidden silence even within the family is reduced. People are finally becoming more open and understanding”, said Mahnoor. 

This progress has been strengthened through the Sang pour Sang Uni.e.s pour la Dignité initiative, a global program that supports feminist organizations working to advance menstrual health and dignity. With this support, Mahwari Justice has been able to expand its work, combining legal advocacy with community engagement, strengthening its evidence base, and reaching more communities. 

Together, these efforts point to a broader shift: menstrual discrimination is increasingly recognized not as an isolated issue, but as part of a system that shapes access to health, education, gender equality, and economic justice. The case before the court, combined with grassroots mobilisation, demonstrates how coordinated feminist action can challenge entrenched norms, influence public discourse, and lay the groundwork for policy change. 

Even as the case continues through Pakistan’s courts, its impact is already visible. By bringing menstruation into constitutional debate, this movement is helping redefine it, not as a private burden, but as a public responsibility.